Please read before asking!

NO, I am sorry I am not doing free artwork / requests. I have a lot of projects and work to do. I occasionally may do artwork for conventions, and of course I will still draw gifts (as the name says - a gift is nothing you request), but please don't ask me for free art.

Also, please don't use recent sad incidents that happened to you as reason to ask for free art. I am very sorry to say no, but if I did all those requests, I would end up doing nothing else any more.

Once in a while I am doing art trades, but it very much depends on my time. Usually I will ask people if they're up for a trade. So if you ask me and I say no, please don't be disappointed.

Depending on my available time, I am taking commissions once in a while (which turned out to be quite rarely). I am sorry I do not keep a waiting list any more (please don't ask me about it, I don't make exceptions). The best way to be informed about open commission slots is to subscribe to my Mailing List. Usually available slots fill up there quickly, so I won't even get to post it to my accounts like FurAffinity.

Smaller commissions like badges or sketches will still be done before and at conventions if time allows (please see question Q3).

If I didn't announce any available slots on my Mailing List, I won't be open for commissions (this does not count for Recolored Mood Badge Sets - you can always ask me for these). I can only take a small number of commissions at a time, so slots usually fill up pretty quickly (I am never really open for commissions in general for a longer time period). Sorry, I don't keep a waiting list any more.

If I have a commission available as auction, I will announce it (including all details) on my Mailing List and my accounts (FurAffinity, Twitter). Best way to stay up to date is to subscribe to my Mailing List. Please note that I cannot send out personal information when I am open for commissions (this is what the Mailing List is for).

Please DON'T:
... upload my artwork to websites like Photobucket, Imageshack, Facebook, etc. There is often no way to give credit to the original art / artist, many of those sites claim a certain usage right on uploaded images (which you are not allowed to give them, because you are not the owner!), most galleries forbid to upload material that doesn't belong to you, etc. There are many reasons, so please be respectful and don't upload images that do not belong to you (that you found it on Google image search is not an excuse to ignore copyrights!).

What's OK:
... if you upload a picture of mine with giving full credit (either my name or a link to my gallery or the original art). Please note that copyrighted characters may not be used for roleplay, avatars, etc. (if you are not sure if a character belongs to somebody or was a random drawing - either ask or please don't use it). Pictures that were done for you (of your character / as commission) may be used and uploaded as you like.

In videos (YouTube etc.):
As long as my artwork is only shown in a video, unaltered and without any doubtful message or connection, it is OK with me (example: a slide show of various (clean) furry artwork). What is not OK and will be reported is if you use my artwork / copyrighted characters to claim as your own (example: a slide show of "your wolf pack" showing artwork by various artists of characters that do not belong to you).

NO. My personal characters (like TaniDaReal, Savoy, Daiquiri, Kaskai, all WeuUkoo Wolves, etc.) are NOT allowed to use in any way - not for roleplays, not as avatars / user images / icons, etc. These characters do not belong to you, please respect that.

Same goes for any copyrighted characters I drew, that belong to other people. Unless you have the owner's explicit permission, those characters are not allowed for use in any way.

Random, anonymous (un-named) characters I drew (and that don't belong to anybody) are OK for roleplay/avatars, if credit is given.

I am neither professional enough for offering such items, nor do I have enough time for doing such complex projects as commissions. I may do fursuits or stuffed animals as personal projects, or it's possible that I may sell one in an auction or art show at some point, but I don't take commissions.

I created a making-of / tutorial website of my fursuits. I have collected tips, descriptions, links and photos there how I made my fursuits. Please read those info first before asking random questions. If you have any specific questions that are not answered there - feel free to send me an email. Please note that I am from Germany and won't be able to give you tips on where to (locally) get good fur outside Germany.

I mainly draw furry art of all kind (anthropomorphic characters - preferrably feral, but also bipedal), including fantasy creatures like for example dragons, taurs or gryphons. As backgrounds I usually prefer landscapes and natural / fantasy environments, but I am not limited to that.

There are some things that I do not really enjoy drawing and which I will probably deny doing artwork of. These are for example humans, partly human fantasy characters (like fauns, elves, dwarfs, etc.), pongids, complicated technical things like machines, robots, cars, space technology, as well as extreme violence or fetishes I am uncomfortable with.

There are certain species that I don't feel very comfortable drawing, like pongids (lemurs etc. are totally fine), anthropomorphic fish/marine or birds characters. I will decide individually if I will do a picture (though I am always looking for new challenges, if I don't enjoy drawing something, the result will not turn out as it should).

Yes, there are regular DIN A4 prints (about letter sized) available of most of my pictures. For further information please visit my Prints page.

Some pictures are also available as Jumbo prints (oversized). The Jumbo-Print-series limited to 3 or 5 prints are only for sale at conventions (Art Show). Other Jumbo-Prints (some are limited, some are not) you can find at the Jumbo-Prints section.

Of course not. :) Receiving fanart is the greatest compliment an artist can get. I always feel very honoured about it and love every single picture. If you're posting it, please just add a little info somewhere whom the character belongs to (copyright) so that others will not misinterpret it as free RP character or such.

Long-time practise and motivation are the key (drawing / creating things has always been a hobby of mine, I did not attend any art school). I have started drawing furry art in 1999, and I always loved watching cartoons and animated movies as inspiration to draw my favourite characters.

Some good ways for learning how to draw are using books and photos to learn about anatomy, but also drawing from life to understand how a body works / moves (you only will be able to draw something right if you understand how it works). There are a lot of good tutorials online for all kind of subjects (anatomy, styles, backgrounds, art materials, etc.).

I am using Adobe Photoshop, a very good image editing program. I have also tried out other software, but I haven't gotten deeper into them yet. The more I am using a graphic tablet - a Wacom Cintiq. If you want to get into digital drawing, you definitely should get a graphic tablet (drawing by mouse isn't really a good option).

When doing artwork with traditional media, I usually either use Copic Markers in combination with colored pencils (Polychromos), or Aquarell watercolors (Schmincke). Copics I use for basic coloring and shading, Polychromos colored pencils I use for details like fur structure, highlights or to intensify the shadings. But of course I have also worked with other material, like acrylics or airbrush.

Usually I am fine with that, yes. Please just make sure that you only use sketches with random / not copyrighted characters on it. If there's a sketch with a copyrighted character (belonging to other people), you need their explicit permission first. If you reupload the colored sketch, credit for my original sketch must be given. Please note that the colored sketches may not be sold in any way.

This just means that a character / picture is copyrighted and belongs to somebody (either me or somebody else) - and that it is not allowed to use it for roleplay, as avatar / forum picture, for representing your own characters and such. It is of course fine to draw the characters shown on it (fanart), to favorite or to save the picture.

Random characters / pictures I drew (unnamed / anonymous characters, not belonging to anybody) are OK for use (also as avatars or roleplay) if credit is given. Altering / Editing my artwork is never allowed by the way (unless it's a clearly defined freebie).

Honestly - a friendship is nothing to ask for.
A friendship is a gift that needs time and work, it's not a contract both sides sign and then we're suddenly friends. Don't expect me to answer these can-we-be-friends-questions.

About pen pals - I am sorry, I usually do not have much time for writing long emails or chit-chatting. I am glad when I find enough time to answer my emails and messages (as I have a full time job). I will always try to answer your mails, but please understand that I don't always have time for long answers.

Feel free to talk to me if you see me online, I don't bite. :) But I probably won't be online very much and if - I likely won't have much time for talking, as I'm usually always busy (having a partner, pets, a job and a household).

I will always try to answer PMs (private messages), but I rather don't like chatting there.

I am being asked this question quite often, and I am always having a hard time answering it...

I am very sorry, but my problem is that checking each gallery and giving personal advice would take a lot more time than I have. It doesn't take just 1 minute to figure out where a weakness is and to give a proper, individual answer, that is really useful to you (and not just a statement).
To give a real advice (and not just a "looks good" or "you should continue practising"), I would have to check and compare several pictures, maybe redline them, give detailed feedback, show you examples and links, etc. - and I simply won't find the time for it.

I will rather concentrate on making tutorials, posting works in progress, and put them on my website. This will hopefully help more people as well. I love to give advice and help, but please understand that I usually won't be able to do it individually due to my limited time.

To keep people up-to-date about open commission slots, conventions and new artwork for sale, without having to check your FurAffinity account every day. I will also post important information on my FA journal too, but people on the Mailing List definitely have a better chance for getting a commission.

I send out packages/orders after payment arrived.
Usually a package takes 3-5 days for Europe, and 5-10 days for international shippings. But depending on where you live, it happens that the postal service takes longer than usual (unfortunately the shipping service does not offer a tracking number outside Germany, however, optional insurance is available).

If he package still didn't arrive after a reasonable time, please contact me again so we can work something out. Please note that uninsured mailing is at your own risk only.

"I am holding a contest / trying to get signatures for a petition / want to advertise XYZ - and I was wondering if you could post something about this in your journal?"

No, I am sorry. Unless it's something that really also affects / concerns me, my journal is not available for "advertising". And if I agreed to post one thing for somebody - how could I argue that I will not post the next thing for somebody else? I just want to avoid trouble and keep it fair.

Actually what I call "Schnolf" is just a snow leopard / wolf hybrid, which is not a copyrighted species, so yes of course, you can make up your own hybrid character as well. I don't have any copyright on this (except my character design).
However, as "Schnolf" has also become a kind of nickname for me (mix of the two German names), I would appreciate it if people would call their species "snow leopard / wolf hybrid" (or use an English mix word like "Snolf"). However, I cannot keep anybody from using that name too.

Email is definitely the best way (tanidareal@gmail.com), as I can access it from everywhere. Don't worry if my reply may take a few days.

My most active communication platform - Twitter. I use it daily, but there is a lot going on so it happens that you sometimes miss tweets. Please note that you can only send me a DM on Twitter if I follow you back, and I can only see your tweets if you have an unprotected account (or I follow you / you approved me).

Please do NOT use Private Messages (Notes) on FurAffinity for communication! I read them once in a while, but I can't access them from everywhere and it's horrible to keep track of conversations due to the lack of filters. So if you have something important or urgent, please send me an email. Please also note that I do not read my DeviantArt or LiveJournal messages!

Another request: Please don't mix conversations on different platforms (e.g. jumping between Emails and private messages), because that will totally confuse me. :)